Unbelievable Waste: Mazda Destroys 4,703 New Cars Worth $100 Million

BoingBoing has an incredible video of nearly 5,000 brand new, straight from the factory Mazdas being flattened at a junkyard. The total value of these cars was $100 million. The Wall Street Journal has it:

It all started about two years ago, when a ship carrying 4,703 shiny new Mazdas nearly sank in the Pacific. The freighter, the Cougar Ace, spent weeks bobbing on the high seas, listing at a severe 60-degree angle, before finally being righted.

The mishap created a dilemma: What to do with the cars? They had remained safely strapped down throughout the ordeal — but no one knew for sure what damage, if any, might be caused by dangling cars at such a steep angle for so long. Might corrosive fluids seep into chambers where they don’t belong? Was the Cougar Ace now full of lemons?

Crazy – couldn’t they just have had mechanics test the cars to see if damage really was done? Or, sell them at a buy-at-your-own-risk discount? Hopefully the metal will at least be reused, because this seems like a huge amount of extremely unnecessary trash.

Link [Wall Street Journal] via [BoingBoing]

High School Team Cruises To New Record Of 2,843 MPG!

At Eco-Marathon Americas — sponsored by none other than Shell (shoot me) — a team from Mater Dei High School out of Santa Ana, CA came in first place by motoring to a new record of 2,843.4 miles per gallon. Of course, the size of the vehicles don’t allow for such options as cup holders, but their form and technology are important in creating even greater efficiency for future commercial models. From the article,

Those top three vehicles, like most in the competition (25 out of 33 total), used internal combustion engines. The goal for all entrants was to travel as far as possible using as little fuel as possible. Vehicles–sans driver–couldn’t weigh more than 160 kilograms (352 pounds), while drivers had to weigh at least 50 kilograms. The lone diesel entry, from The College of the Redwoods in Eureka, Calif., achieved 304.5 mpg. The one vehicle to use liquid petroleum gasoline, from Schurr High School of Montebello, Calif., hit 163.5 mpg.

It’s worth noting that the Pulsar vehicle from Purdue University came in first in the solar power category with a 2,861.8 mpg finish. Not too shabby — plus, it would look cooler in your driveway than the Mater Dei winner.

For information on the rest of the entrants, hit Shell’s website (Oh, the horror!) for additional deets.

The Pedal Powered Flintstones Car Rides Again! Case Tossed Out of Court

I was happy to read yesterday that the case against Torontonian Trevor Baldwin for driving what is best described as a pedal powered Flintstones car was tossed out of court. Artist Michel de Groin gutted the ‘86 Buick Regal- ripping out the engine, exhaust, transmission, and even the headlights, replacing them with candles, turning it into a lighweight human powered conveyance.

The car hits just under 10 MPH on flat ground with four people pedaling and was pulled over by the police in October for being “unsafe”. The prosecutor had a hard time making his case in court and was interrupted by laughter from the peanut gallery. The case was dismissed and Baldwin took his car out for a drive.

Huzzah, a win for the green little guy.

Link [CBC News]

Photo grabbed from Carectomy

Stealing Copper is the Old Hotness: All The Cool Crackheads Are Swiping Catalytic Converters

There lies a secret more precious than gold deep, deep in the belly of your Honda Civic, and dark forces wish to take it from you. Apparently, the catalytic converter in your car contains precious metals and crackheads have been working their twitchy asses off stealing them. The tiny honeycomb like structure that is used to clean exhaust fumes using high heat and chemical reactions contains traces of platinum and other blingy substances that can be given to a scrap yard for a decent buck. With our craptastic economy and the booming commodities market, more and more thefts of these little doodads are being reported everyday. Replacement converters go for around $450 all the way up to $1,500 for an S.U.V. (haha!). This is bad news for car-owners who can’t protect a very vital and expensive part of their car as it can easily be sliced off by crawling underneath the vehicle with a battery operated saw.

The preciousss….the preciousss. We wants it. We needs it. Must have the precioussss. They stole it from us. Wicked, trickssssy, sneaky little hobbitsesss.

In related news, if you want to cheer yourself up (or maybe just make your neighbors crazy) by adding a little sumpin’ sumpin’ to your fly ride, check out the latest car mod hitting the west coast- the muffler whistle.

Link [New York Times]

Excuse Me, I’m Going to Need This to Run My Car, Or The Insanity of Food Based Biofuels

I think this comic pretty much sums up the stupidity of using corn and other food crops to create ethanol to run in cars.

Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

For The Millionare Who Has Everything: The CarLoft Means Never Having To Say Hello (To Your Neighbors)

The other day I was wondering about hugely famous people like Oprah Winfrey, wondering if they ever even breathe fresh air anymore. I mean, a lot of celebrities drive (or are driven) from parking garage to parking garage - riding a complex series of elevators and automobiles, chutes and tunnels, until they arrive at their climate controlled destination. But what a bummer to always have to walk down the hall to the elevator that goes to the parking garage, right?

Thankfully, a German company with the ever-so-clever name of CarLoft is putting that long walk down the corridor to the parking garage elevator behind us. This incredible waste of money invention means that hi-rise city dwellers need not mingle with the likes of the creepy parking attendant or dirty up a shirtsleeve while reaching to swipe a parking card at an electric gate. (Again, perfect for celebrities.) No, you can just ease your beautiful ride into the lift, cruise on up and drive the thing onto your balcony. So your dinner party guests, who may have already arrived… via the (oh, how awful) front door… can greet you with a cocktail and then stand around and compliment you on your clear coat.

There’s something all too unnecessary about the CarLof. Not only will this elevator (remember, it’s a CAR elevator, people) consume unreal amounts of electricity, but the potential disasters are almost laughable: warming up the car and leaving the sliding glass door open is not recommended, I would imagine. And then there’s that whole idea about waving extremely heavy objects over crowded city streets. Not really thinking THAT’s a great idea either.

Thank you CarLoft, but I’ll take the stairs.

Link [CarLoft] via [Concept Trends]

Five Dollar Gas Plus is The New Reality- Time to Hybrid Up

$5/gallon gas in Gordo, California. Welcome to the new reality.

Link [San Luis Obispo]

Photo Credit: Flickr user Momo The Monster

The Friday Video Round Up: Will Ferrell, Big Angry Fat Guys, Al Gore, and the Hummer Hybrid

It’s Friday; you ain’t got no job… and you ain’t got shit to do. So roll one up (a burrito), sit back, and relax to a few funny ass videos.

• Big Angry Fat Guy 

 

I’m surprised this guy didn’t have a heart attack half way through this. The fat Guy From Boston unloads on Global Warming, Al Gore, and Ben Affleck. While I don’t agree with his angle, I have to give him credit for his angry crazy man passion.

• The Hummer Hybrid

 

I want a Hummer Hybrid. It’s gets 5MPG on the highway!

• Will Ferrell, aka George Bush, on Global Warming

 

An oldie, but goodie. Will Ferrell is the man.

• Artfully Shot Macro Video of Popping Pimples

 

OK, this one isn’t green at all but is a disturbingly good way to end the week. If you’ve ever gotten a secret thrill from popping a pimple, this one is for you. Squeamish readers might want to skip this one.

Enjoy your Friday!

GM CEO Rick Wagoner: Vice Chairman Bob Lutz Doesn’t Speak for GM on Global Warming

We wrote about GM’s Vice Chairman Bob Lutz a last month when he made the brilliant comment that Global Warming was a “total crock of shit”. GM is getting their asses handed to them by Toyota and Honda who have been much smarter about deploying hybrid technology in their fleet.

GM’s CEO Rick Wagoner wants us all to know that Bob wasn’t speaking for General Motors- they believe that Global Warming is real and that they are working on how to best address the issue.

Fuck them. GM has been dragging their feet on improving efficiency for as long as cars have had four wheels. They’re hooked on building big ass cars that get single ass digit gas mileage. Mr. Wagoner can sputter all he wants about how GM loves the Earth and is doing their bestest to save it from their products, but we’re not being fooled. Bob Lutz made it very clear- GM is lead by asshat dinosaurs who will be buried in the tar pit that is a Globally Warmed future.

Link [Pure Green Cars]

Higher Gas Prices + Road Congestion = Greener Mass Transit

Is everyone else just getting killed by gas prices? I can’t believe how short a distance $20 in gas now gets me. I work from home and don’t drive much and I’m still hating the wallet gouging the gas pump is digging me for. I know gas is never going to be cheap again and the whole situation has prompted me to make some big life changes.

First, me and my family are moving into downtown Portland, Maine. We moved back east a few years ago and have been living in the rural just north of the city of 100,000. Over the past few months we realized that we were sick of driving everywhere and sick of the money it cost us to do so. We’ll be moving to Portland’s West End, a cool old money section of town that is smack dab next to just about anything you’d want to walk to on the city’s peninsula. I’m getting an electric skateboard and downsizing my car.

Grist’s Ryan Avent points out that oil prices are at an all time high in real terms. Gas prices peak during the summer so it’s likely a lot of the country could see $4/gallon gas come June. He hopes the higher prices combine with hassles of congestion will spur our investment and focus on clean mass transit. He has it:

If new infrastructure primarily comes in the form of new lane miles, then congestion reduction will only be temporary; eventually, developers will respond to the new investments by building along the new capacity — that is, outward. In the space of a few years, the congestion benefits will be erased, and with no reduction in vehicle miles traveled or emissions, since increased efficiency may well be canceled out by longer commutes. Critically, exposure to higher fuel costs will remain.

If, however, congestion is addressed by the implementation of congestion pricing, along with significant investments in high-capacity rail service, both inter- and intracity, then efforts to clear the nation’s arteries will also yield reductions in emissions and miles traveled, and the addition of automobile alternatives will make it easier for commuters to substitute away from driving when gas costs soar.

We’re going to spend a lot of money on infrastructure in the near future. It is critical that we use that money to maximum good effect. New highways will bring little to no long-term return on investment. If we’re going to spend, we should spend smart.

As much as higher gas prices hurt my individual pocket, it could be a very effective way to push things in a smarter, greener way. Let’s hear it for $5/gallon!

Link [Gristmill]

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